A High Court judge has granted a former police officer permission to challenge his dismissal after he was accused by United States prosecutors of being involved in the illegal drug trade.
Sergeant Prince Albert Symonette was fired on December 12, last year, after the United States had alleged that on October 18, 2023, he had accepted approximately US$10,000 in bribe payments as a down payment for his assistance in what he understood to be an upcoming 600-kilogram cocaine shipment to The Bahamas through the Nassau Airport, for eventual distribution to the United States.
Symonette learned that he was named in the indictment on November 27, 2024, through social media and mainstream media.
Acting Justice Cheryl Bazard, KC, in allowing Symonette permission to challenge his dismissal said ‘I am satisfied on the evidence before me that there is an arguable case that the claimant was not afforded due process and the decision itself may have been taken without neither proper regard for the First Defendant’s obligations to the claimant nor adherence to the principles of natural justice.
‘On the face of it, it appears that the First Defendant paid no heed to his statutory obligations’ the judge said, adding ‘having regard to the evidence before this court, and the foregoing authorities, I am satisfied that this case constitutes exceptional circumstances’ the judge added.
Symonette has asked the court to find that the commissioner’s decision to discharge him from the Royal Bahamas Police Force was unlawful, and in violation of his right to a fair hearing and due process.
He is also seeking a declaration that his constitutional rights were breached and an order that he receive compensation for the loss of salary from the date of his dismissal to present.
The commissioner of police, the attorney general and minister of legal affairs are named as defendants.
Symonette joined the force on July 1, 1994, and served for 30 years and five months until his discharge. He became pensionable in 2019 and completed four consecutive 12-month contracts under the Police Act 2009.
On December 8, 2024, Symonette was told to attend a meeting with the commissioner on December 12, 2024 where he was relieved of his police warrant card, firearms certificate, police pistol and given a discharge certificate dated December 2, 2024.
In an affidavit, Fernander said Symonette was on a discretionary year-to-year contract and that senior executives unanimously decided that Symonette would be dismissed since his contract had expired.
Fernander also admitted that he told Symonette that he was ‘disappointed to learn of the allegations made against him’ and that the allegations had caused the public to view the police force negatively.
He denied accusing Symonette of corruption and attacking him verbally but said he wished him well.
On the other hand, Symonette alleged that Fernander verbally attacked him and that the top cop took it upon himself to discharge him.
He said Fernander handed him a discharge certificate without giving him a chance to respond to any accusation or appear before a fair disciplinary hearing that is called for in the Police Act 2009.